


A Sea of Clouds

by Panda_Valentine



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-10 05:59:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11685510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Panda_Valentine/pseuds/Panda_Valentine
Summary: A sequel to Clouds below, Stars above, with slightly more plot (ish?)





	A Sea of Clouds

**Author's Note:**

> Set during the Heavensward expansion of FFXIV. Does contain some spoilers for that game, although as before you don't need to have played the game to enjoy the fic, or so I've been told.
> 
> Fanart for this fic is viewable here: http://sexynerdydirty.tumblr.com/post/164619133984/he-carried-her-quickly-to-a-tent-that-was-off-to

_Cid Garlond, you are an idiot_ – the owner of the name viciously stabbed at stuck bolt with a screw driver. 

The weather in the Sea of Clouds could never be described as pleasant, unless you particularly liked intensely cold days with constant morning fog and the common threat of intense aetheric winds. Today the winds were particularly bad, driving almost all but the brave or desperate indoors.

Cid was both brave and the task that lay before them, slaying the Vanu Primal Bismarak, was desperate however at that moment what he mostly felt was embarrassed with himself. 

_The poor girl just lost one of her dearest friends and closest ally here in Ishgard and I'm tryin' to bleedin' flirt with her. Like a dumb-ass._

He had no excuse for his behavior, other than the fact that he desperately hoped that Dainty would show in his room again the way she had on the Enterprise. Even if it was the worst possible time to react on that hope.

Dainty's somber countenance had barely flickered in the days since Alphinaud had informed Garlond Ironworks about Haurchefant's murder at the Vault. They all knew Dainty was taking it hard, even if it was sometimes hard to tell with the stoic Auri. Her steel-eyed gaze tended to be unwavering whether she was happy or sad.

The small, mischievous smiles and quick compliments she always had for Tataru were completely absent however, as was the occasional long suffering eye roll she reserved for Alphinaud.

"Sorry you lost yer friend, would you mind awfully if I tried to bait a giant sky whale using you as bait, hurr hurr, would you mind hitting it a bit with your axe while you're there, hurr hurr." Cid muttered to himself in a simultaneously mocking and chagrined tone of voice. He felt a right fool and, frankly, he considered himself deserving of it.

He should have been respectful of her loss, instead of cracking jokes and smiles and blithely assuring Alphinaud that he, Cid Garlond, would of course be there to pull Dainty to safety if it looked like she may fail.

_Of course she won't fail. She's Dainty but you just had to make a stupid joke, didn't you? Be nice to deliver you into the fire for once. Ha – fucking - ha, Cid.....you dumb ass._

Movement out of the corner of his eye made Cid look up, the wind was starting to push the heavy clouds that surrounded the aptly named location onto the land, creating a thick fog that sent a chill prickling up the back of his muscular arms. Even with the portable ovens and forging fires within the camp it was hard to keep the worst of the Sea of Clouds' frigid temperatures at bay. 

Her foot falls were silent, the mist concealing her as she slipped, unnoticed by those stationed in the front, into the camp site. 

Cid rose slowly, setting aside his busy project and trying not to seem over eager to see the silk and chiffon clad Au Ra as she continued gracefully towards the back of the camp, glancing left and right as she went, as if she believed she was doing something wrong.

She looked amazing. 

Dainty had taken to wearing a pitch black ensemble in the days since her friends' passing but now she had traded that for a pale blue bustier and skirt of Thavnairian style. 

The skirt sat low on her hips, floating gently to her bare ankles and accentuating her slow, graceful movements. The top rode high on her ribs and breasts, exposing opalescent scales and soft, touchable looking skin to the air. 

She had dyed her hair, which she wore long and loose by habit, a flattering mint colour that Cid liked very much. The pastel shade giving her skin a pretty, golden glow by contrast.

He almost forgot himself at the sight of her, biting back the greeting he had been about to call out which would have alerted the others to her whereabouts. She was clearly taking great pains to conceal her presence.

Cid gave her a small, welcoming wave instead. Dainty gave him a small smile in reply, walking directly to him. Without a word she pressed herself against him, her fingers lightly curling into the fabric at the back of his tunic and pressing her cheek to his heartbeat, the cranial projection on that side folding neatly to allow the affectionate motion. 

Cid couldn't help but give a small chuckle. Apparently his ill-timed flirting had not been ill received although it caught him off guard how she went from cold, ruthless Au Ra Marauder to sweet, affectionate Dainty without a lick of warning. He supposed it probably always would.

She was unsurprisingly cold to the touch when his arms came around her. 

She was the Warrior of Light, certainly but the strength to slay Primals did not make one immune to the freezing temperatures of Ishgard. The silk, chiffon and beaded outfit that Dainty wore was practically lingerie and it was damned cold out. 

"I don't want to think anymore today." Dainty sighed deeply, offering only that fleeting explanation for her behavior, her words muffled against his chest. Hydaelyn commanded her to "Hear. Feel. Think" but Dainty was starting to believe that everything she had heard and thought in the past few months had left her numb to the ability to feel. 

The icy temperatures and temperaments in Ishgard certainly wasn't helping the emotions of a Raen Au'Ra who tended to be cold all on her own.

"Seven hells, I understand that sentiment too well. Let's get you warmed up." Cid suggested gently and Dainty raised her head to give him a grateful smile before nodding and finally uncurling her fingers from his clothing.

A quick glance around divined that they had no audience, as desired, and Cid bent quickly, scooping Dainty up into his arms and earning him a surprised giggle from Dainty, who twined her arms around his neck affectionately.

She never got man-handled and it always both startled and pleased her when Cid did it. Everyone else was too respectful or fearful of her and her abilities.

He carried her quickly to a tent that was off to the left of the others that had been insulated against the wet and wind. A magitek device in the back produced warmth to keep the enclosure comfortable and gave the ambient lighting a pleasant blue glow.

Cid's bed was little more than a cot but it had been piled with woven blankets and snow wolf pelts from trading with the Zundu and it made for a comfortable perch when he set Dainty on it. She reached for the strings of her outfit and Cid gave her a scandalized look, scolding gently;

"Don't you dare, Dainty. Unwrapping you myself is half the fun."

Dainty giggled but let her hands fall, penitently pressing her palms to her knees, biting a lip and waiting for Cid to finish fussing with the tent flap, effectively "locking" it with a length of cord and a hook.

Her eyes, deep purple with vibrant orange limbal rings, seemed very large in her pale face. With the pastel tones of her hair and dress her eyes seemed even more vivid still as Cid walked slowly towards her, kicking off his shoes and leg holsters.

As before the second he joined her on the bed she was crawling into his lap, straddling his legs eagerly pressing her mouth to his. Dainty ran her hands through the silver white locks of his hair, kissing Cid desperately as his hands found her prominent hip bones before sliding up over the bare skin to the hem of her bustier.

She kissed him until she breathless and the room swam. He loved the way she kissed him, like she was desperate to get just a tiny bit closer to him, her arms twined around his neck.

Cid's skillful fingers, dexterous from years of working on intricate magitek made quick work of the closures at her neck and back. He tugged on the front of her silk garment and, at the slightest bit of pressure the thin straps slid off her smooth shoulders and fell to reveal her breasts. 

Her nipples, hardened with arousal, stiffened further with the chill.

Dainty shivered in his arms as his mouth left hers to trail hotly down her neck, strong hands on her hips, pulling her to him and the slow mounting erection building in the front of his pants.

Her head fell back, eyes closing and voice catching breathlessly with desire as he dipped her back , strong, muscular arms easily able to hold her slight weight. 

Cid mouth found her breasts eagerly, his beard tickling the soft skin as he kissed the valley between them. Dainty writhed a little, then gasped aloud as his hot mouth claimed a dusky rose nipple and tugged on it fervently. 

Her hands were lost in his hair, her voice was lost to his ministrations. Dainty slid her hands down Cid's chest, half tearing his tunic off him and determined to give as good as she got.

The Garlean engineer had other ideas.

His hands slid up her bare skin from her hips before lifting her up and leaning forwards so he could lay her out on the bed. Dainty made a soft, eager noise against his mouth, wrapping her long legs around his waist and pulling him on top of her.

He rocked his hips against hers slightly and Dainty gaped softly as his pelvis impacted sharply with her clit. She was wearing not a stitch beneath the floating silk and chiffon, he realised.

He kissed her throat, her collarbones and the valley between her breasts.  
Down to below her belly button as he slid the flimsy skirt down with his large hands.

Dainty felt her breath hitch, lifting her hips to allow the garment to be removed, leaving her naked.

His hands settled on her hip bones as he nudged her legs apart with his knees.  
Kneeling between her legs, Cid bent over and kissed Dainty's pouting mouth before he repeated his path down her body with his lips, pausing to kiss her fluttering heartbeat. 

Cid's hands dusted down her legs, encouraging Dainty to kick one, then the other his shoulders and momentarily enjoying the sensation of his palms of her soft skin and rougher scales.

His south bound mouth found that which had been denied him last time. His tongue slid across her overly sensitive pussy lips and Dainty felt her body seize up, arching instinctively at the sudden rapturous sensation.

His tongue teased her slowly, skillfully, his beard tickling the soft sensitive skin of her inner thighs. 

"Oh! Oh, oh, Ci~iddd...."

He officially had a new favorite thing in the entirety of Eorzea. He liked it when Dainty screamed his name, certainly, but Cid discovered that he loved it when she moaned it just like that. Soft and sincere, and drawing it out into a plea.

She twitched violently when his lips found the bundle of nerves that was her clit.

He slid his hands up her thighs, bracketing her hips and preventing her from twisting away from his hot, questing mouth.

Cid's tongue lashed back and forth as Dainty's head pressed back into the bedding, neck arched, shoulders lifting off the bed slightly.

She moaned again, her plaintive, aching tone was music to his hears, and sent a lightning bolt of arousal straight to his groin. The urge to drop all pretense and fuck her like they both wanted him too was strong but, Dainty had made a request that Cid took very seriously.

Dainty wanted to not think and he would not stop until that particular desire, and a couple others, had been fulfilled. She asked for so little. Really, it was the least he could do.

Dainty gulped down a huge breath, managing to cry out:

“Cid! Please… oh!” 

She snapped off the bed, folding almost in half and plunging her hands into his hair.

Her hips were moving on their own, a tiny little thrust towards Cid’s hot mouth every time his tongue glanced her clit.

 _Yep, definitely a better sound than when a Magitek starts up right on the first try_ – Cid decided.

Dainty wanted to curse, or perhaps invoke the name of the Destroyer but she couldn’t seem to draw breath to speak as that exhilarating, lightning hot pressure in her core throbbed and radiated in a quickening succession of pulses.

She tossed her head back, body locking up in stimulation overload as the mounting pleasure finally burst into the most intense thing she’d ever felt in a long, long time.

It was wonderful and left her shaking, brain devoid of anything but white, and bliss.

Cid sat up on one hip, gently lowering her legs from his shoulders to the bed and letting her bask in the glow. The way she had been arching had given him an idea.

Dainty heaved a delicious sigh, finally coming back down to earth and giving her bed partner a singularly wicked smile.

"Your turn." she suggested, twining her arms around Cid's shoulders but he did not seem to hear her, looking at her like a problematic piece of Magitek. Dainty could the cogs spinning behind his blue eyes. The Garlean engineer has noticed a problem and was on a mission to solve it.

Her purple and orange eyes met his blue ones, curious and questioning. Cid gave her a smirk before grabbing one of the pillows, balling it up into cushion shape and shoving it behind her neatly.

Cid bore Dainty back down to the bed gently, resting his full weight against her, one pale silver eyebrow arched in a silent question.

Thanks to the pillow she was forced into an arch. The weight of their bodies was suddenly distributed to her sit bones and shoulders, rather than directly onto her tail which would have been crushed beneath them.

Dainty wriggled a bit to test this addition to the bed. It was hard to move too much with his heavier body pleasantly atop her own but she minded not a whit. She was quite fond of Cid's body and the ability to touch it at will had been denied her until now. 

Dainty smiled up at Cid cheekily. 

"Genius." She purred.

Cid would cherish the look of admiration Dainty gave him right before she kissed him fiercely for the rest of his days.

Her hands roamed where ever she could reach. Scratching teasingly down his back, running up the corrugated sides of his muscular torso, stroking down his chest, exploring the smooth planes of his body ardently.

Her mouth followed her hands where able, lips dancing along the bare skin at his neck. When her lips glanced his flat male nipple he grunted, pulling her head back a little roughly and capturing her mouth again in a hard kiss. Dainty pressed insistently against his length, writhing slightly.

Cid drew back only long enough to divest himself of his pants, returning naked to her to settle between Dainty's parted thighs.

She cupped his bearded face with her hands, drawing his mouth to hers and kissing him deeply. Cid slid his arms under her body, cradling her more as he lowered his weight against her fully. Dainty felt the velvety smooth head of his cock penetrate her. 

She gasped against his lips, wrapping her legs over his hips eagerly and relishing in every single ounce of sensation she was experiencing.

his lips leaving hot trails down her neck and across her collar bones, continuing down and laving one rose pink, hard nipple with his tongue.

Her full breasts bounced slightly with every thrust into her tight body he made.

Dainty dragged her nails down his back.

“More” she whispered, breathless, encouraging him to be a little rougher with her. She wanted sensation. She wanted to feel.

Her heels pressed into his buttocks, applying pressure, as if she could pull him deeper inside her.

Cid chuckled against her soft skin. His lips dragged down her pale throat, teeth glancing the sensitive, ticklish point where her neck met shoulder and making her gasp and squirm as he thrust deeply within her.

When the kiss turned into a gentle bite Dainty gasped audibly. "Rhalgr! Cid!"

Cid did it again whilst simultaneously increasing the pace and force of his thrusts.

Dainty moaned again, louder this time, attempting to meet his movements with her hips. It was strange not being able to arch in pleasure due to being already forced into an arch by the pillow at the small of her back and the crushing weight of his body but she liked it.

He was devastatingly adept at finding all the erogenous zones on her body and turning them against her in oh so perfect ways. 

She panted and writhing, eyes tightly closed as their sweat slicked bodies rocked together but her hands never stilled. Her nails clawed up his back, through his hair, dragging down his arms.

The combination of pain and pleasure was almost too much for Cid, pulling his mouth away from Dainty's breasts, breathing hard.

“Gods, Dainty.” he groaned, behind gritted teeth. She was so wet but so tight and the heat from their bodies was a delicious kind of Hell.

She kissed him frantically before her head fell back and she cried out in that glorious, unrepentant way she did. Like she didn’t give a damn who could hear her scream his name. He was suddenly thankful for the raging wind that drowned out her voice to anyone passing through the camp.

He drew away from her, sitting onto his heels and lifting her by the hips to rail into her hard, his Garlean strength easily up to the task.

"Cid!.... oh!......!!" Dainty twisted violently, plunging her hands into her mint green hair in ecstasy, this new position not dissimilar to the one she had so enjoyed the first time Cid had taken her to bed. 

He slid almost completely out of her to thrust deeply back in, a growl deep in the back of his throat. She was too hot, mewling his name, and that Lominsan curse, wrapped around him like liquid silk.

Dainty felt possessed and delirious and she would swear she could feel every single inch of his length sliding in and out of her. 

Her purple eyes, orange limbal rings fairly glowing, snapped open to stare sightlessly at the top of the tent, brow creased and biting her bottom lip at the intense sensation of everything. Were not for the way her inner muscles were clenching and spasming around his cock Cid would have thought she was in pain. Dainty twitched involuntarily, shuddered, then twitched violently again before her she gave one breathless gasp and her body locked up entirely in orgasm.

A couple more thrusts and Cid couldn't help but follow her into release, biting back a curse of his own, eye squeezed tightly closed of their own accord. 

For several long moments neither could speak, or move. Bodies refusing to obey commands like misbehaving magitek. Silence reigned in the tent but for their heavy breathing as after shocks rippled through them.

Finally the sensation of Dainty's shaking, trembling legs, still wrapped around him, brought Cid back to reality.

Cid slid his hands from her hips to the small of her back, lifting Dainty easily so that when he flopped down on his back she ended up on top of him. Dainty giggled, perfectly happy with this, snuggling close and enjoying the shared warmth of their sweat-slicked, naked bodies pressed close together.

"Thank you." She offered softly, resting her cheek against his heartbeat. 

"Glad t'oblige you..." Cid replied, catching his breath enough to offer a cheeky "...lass."

Dainty's head shot up and she glared at him playfully. His arms came around her and she sighed deeply, contentedly, laying her head back on his chest and allowing him his devilry.

Cid's racing but slowly calming heart-beat against her cheek, an echo of her own, distracted her for a few moments before she raised her head curiously.

Dainty's unique eyes glanced left to right, catching the sound of something interesting.

Or rather, the lack of sound. 

The violent aetheric winds that had been preventing them from boarding the Enterprise and setting off in pursuit of Bismark had finally blown themselves out. The roar of the winds against the hard canvas of the tent material had quietened at long last.

Cid noticed it a scant few seconds after she had, his blue eyes meeting her purple and orange ones regretfully. He would much rather have stayed exactly where they were for at least another hour.

"No rest for the wicked, eh?" Cid suggested, giving as best a shrug as he could with a naked Dainty sprawled across his chest like a ship wreck survivor. She shook her head "no" sadly. "Come on, lets go punch a sky whale."

Dainty smiled one of her dark, wholly un-innocent smiles at him.

"Yeah, let's go punch a fucking sky whale."


End file.
